Anyone have anything good or bad to say about a 2000 VW Jetta (not a TDI)?

Coworkers daughter is looking at one ... low money for the purchase so I am told.

Thanks

My wife had a '99 "New Jetta" (the 2000 model early debut).

It had a couple of issues - power window regulator, brake light switch (the dealer adamantly insisted that our brake light switch issue was unrelated to the one for which there had been a recall ), but was relatively dependable transportation.

2.0 or 1.8t?

The turbo's go out on the 1.8t pretty quickly when they are chipped. Control arms last ~ 125k miles, ABS modules go out occasionally, There have been poor quality ignition coils used.

Aside from that, regular maintenance. Dependable cars.
This is from a audi a4 owner, but the parts used are virtually the same.

Avoid any G/J/NB with an automatic. That said, the rest of the car is fine. Dead reliable engine, fairly zippy, reasonably good fuel economy. They're sturdy. As with all cars, dollars spent on service go a long way toward preventing costly repairs. I work on these all the time, and I like 'em. My '02 TDi has been essentially trouble free for the 70K miles we've owned it. TB and water pump(insist on the one with the metal impeller!) at 70-75K, plugs and filters every 30K, and you'll be fine. Use ONLY the VW coolant.

The Cap'n

Thanks guys...purfect

Cap'n... why the VW coolant only...?

great and dependable.
No automatics from any German company.
That vintage VW will have window, switch and dash board issues...all simple annoying electrical issues.

That car will go 200k or more.
The car will fall apart long before the drivetrain will ever have an issue (properly maintained)

Rich

Blocks were made of aluminum or similar and required special coolant to prevent premature corosion. G12 or something.. The pink stuff NOT availible at your local store. Buy at VW/Audi/Porsche dealer (or distributor).

Jup,

Buy the VW coolant ONLY. The FLAPS stuff will cause premature head pitting and sealant leaks.

Frickin problem has been a VW issue forever, and VW loves the $25 a gallon price.
Probably more now but that was my last price.

The Jetta 4 platform (G/J/NB/TT) has NOTHING in common with the Audi A4 platform, and I can't think of a single chassis or body part that is common between the two. The VW A4 designation is an internal code. The Audi A4 designation is a marketing term for the B chassis cars (B6, B7, B8, etc.). Passats are B platform cars.

The Cap'n

The blocks are cast iron, the heads aluminum, and the hardware holding them together is steel. Dissimilar metals react to the chemicals found in mainstream FLAPS sourced coolant. VW, MB, and BMW use special coolants to prevent that. They're phosphate and silicate free. Porsche does, too. The Porsche coolant we use in the late water pumpers is close to the latest VW formulation (or maybe the same). BTW, MB has used a special coolant even longer than VW or BMW. Like 30+ years. Mix the green stuff with OE MB stuff and you get globules of guck that are all but impossible to remove from the cooling system. The latest VW?Porsche formula backdates to all their earlier cars, and mixes safely with whatever is left of the old coolant. I change the coolant when I do a water pump and timing belt, say every 3-4 years, or 70K miles, and the additional expense is about 10-15 bucks, since you dilute it 50/50 with distilled water.

The Cap'n

I was talking quality being the same... Not actual parts (engine excluded)

We never see suspension component wear on the A4 cars, and they don't suffer the ABS controller failures so common with the B platform. I spend a LOT more time (per car) with PITA electronics issues on the B cars than I ever do on the A cars. I mean, whose bright idea was it to put the comfort control module and it's wiring under the driver's side floor carpet and the engine electronics box in the cowl where water get by it and run right down onto the floor?

The Cap'n

I love my B5 Audi's. I would buy a A4 Jetta. Almost did in fact. An A5 anyway...

My daughter bought a 2001 Jetta VR6 with 80k and loves it. Stupid tensioner bearing went out right afterwards probably due to the PO powerwashing the engine?? Other than that its been great for her.

I sold my 2004 1.8t Passat which had very little problems other than the sunroof drains clogging up all the time.....they need to be bigger than a small straw.

No German automatics allowed in my family!!! all manuals.
Friend has a 2001 A4 V6 auto that he bought cheap and has poured money into the tranmission repairs....$$$$..keeps complaining as he bought it as I had such good luck with my Passat. I tell him I told you no automatics but you didn't listen.

My wife has a 2004 Jetta with the 2.0 engine. Over all the car fits her well (she is 5') and she loves to speed around in it.
We did have issues with the sunroof drains. The drains started leaking at the connection near the sunroof and the water pooled on the rear passanger floor; the headliner had to be removed to fix the problem.
Also she has an issue when the the gas gets below 1/4 tank the car likes to stumble and cut out for a few seconds. I've not solved this problem yet.
The timing belt was no too hard to change and basic maint is straight forward.
I must say the the plastic parts seem to be cheap and break easily (center consol storage latch, seat belt bolt covers etc)

Agreed Rich, I went through 5 transmissions in my 2001 VR6. My Passat with a stick had 0 issues. Make sure the car is documented with all services completed.

The sunroof drains are covered under a recall. If you paid to have them fixed, you can probably get reimbursed.

The Cap'n

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 100K miles, VR6s are prone to chain issues. Tensioners, chain stretch, whatever. 14 hours labor and hundreds of dollars in parts. It sets the CEL, so you can't get it smogged until it's fixed.

The Cap'n

I owned an '01 with the 1.8t for 8 years. After owning that car, I understand while german automatics are not suggested. I hated that automatic - the worst I had ever had. Other than that, I had better than average reliability. The vacuum lines were starting to disentegrate and the maf sensor was replaced before I traded it. I loved the interior and the ride/handling with the sport suspension.

'03 2.0 Jetta and I have the same problem... Never correlated it with a low gas tank but I tend to be under 1/4 all the time anyway This little problem gets REAL interesting in heavy traffic or on the freeway. Does it stumble out and completely die? Or stumble down as if it were idling? Mine does both.
Also it's an automatic and just started slipping bad at 85k.

It has not died out on her, but she has not been stuck in traffic with it. It seems to kick on after a few seconds. I found a post onvwvortex where another guy has the same problem, but no solution was ever posted. I told the wife to keep the gas above 1/4 tank.

I own a 2004 Jetta GLI 1.8T and love it!!! The best car I've ever owned...Yes, I had the coil issue but VW had a recall and fixed it no problem. I have a Neuspeed cold air intake and the car is chipped...Lots of fun and fast... Well, fast for a Jetta.

Click to view attachment